"In the end, she became more than what she expected. She became the journey, and like all journeys, she did not end, she just simply changed directions and kept going." R. M. Drake

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

What I believe....

I don't often blog about my faith. I figure that if anyone is interested in what I believe they will ask me. But I have come to realize that most people do not ask =) They assume and judge before truly understanding what they are assuming and judging about. I just felt the desire to post on my religion and maybe clear up a few things because I really hate the misconception of Mormons.

With this post I am not trying to offend ANYONE. If you'd rather not hear what I have to say - that's fine. You are under no obligation to read this. And, also, I am not trying to compare my religion to anyone else's. I respect every other religion there is and you are entitled to your own opinions and choices, just like I am.

I'm frustrated that I get judged a lot because I am a Latter Day Saint. (Yes, I am a Mormon, for those who didn't know….) So many people are misinformed, especially in my home town. Their sources are not accurate, a lot of it comes from members who have fallen away from the church and have become bitter towards it. I just don't understand why I am so heavily judged by what I believe when those who are Catholic, Methodist, Lutheran, Wesleyan, Jewish etc etc etc are able to live on freely believing what they believe. Going to church without judgement. It is a free country and we are allowed to worship our God in whichever way we feel is right and true.

This just happens to be the faith that I have come upon in which I believe to be true.

I think it's important to state that we worship JESUS CHRIST. Some people thing that we worship Joseph Smith, no we really don't. Come to our sacrament meeting and you'll clearly see we talk about the Spirit, Jesus Christ, our Heavenly Father. Everything is centered around that. Joseph Smith was our first prophet who translated the golden plates which are known as the Book Of Mormon which we believe to be another testament of Jesus Christ. Yes, we still read the bible, we focus upon it a lot. We do not worship the Book or Mormon or get all of our sources from it. In fact, there are many, many references to the bible in the BoM, which a lot of people don't understand.

We put a lot of focus on our living Prophets. No we do not worship our Prophets. But we do listen very closely to their messages. There were many prophets in the bible, so why can their not be living prophets to this day? Who is saying that they had to stop? Just something to think about.

One other thing I want to quickly address - Latter Day Saints do not practice polygamy!!! In fact it's prohibited. over 100 years ago there were a few Mormons who practiced polygamy, but it was stopped. Anyone who is a polygamist is not associated with the Church. I believe those who practice it call themselves FLDS, fundamentalist latter day satins. I think that's a common confusion with LDS. FLDS and LDS are not related.

I just ask that before anyone places judgement upon me for believing how I believe and for being a Latter Day Saint - do your research from an OFFICIAL CHURCH website or from the Book of Mormon itself. Please get to understand what I believe before you criticize me and tell me I am wrong.

The best source for information about the LDS faith:

www.lds.org

If you want to learn some of the basics about what we believe check out this article. It addresses many FAQs on what we believe, why we believe some principals, and just some facts about our Faith.

5 comments:

Love you Nikki. I'm sorry people are giving you such a hard time. Hang in there. Pray, trust the answers you get from God, and try not to worry about what others think. Yes, there are many fears and misconceptions out there. Yes, there are many beautiful things to hold onto in these beliefs,

Nikki, This took a lot of guts to post and I am so very proud of you. I understand what you are going through growing up in the same town and attending the same churches as you. I have been judged even more harshly because of my failed marriages and my search to find the church I wanted to attend led me to try all of the area churches. Nothing against any of them. I love and respect each and every one of them. I truly feel this church (LDS) is what I have been searching for. There are still people who look down on me and don't speak to me because of it but I am so happy and at peace with where I am that I really don't care any more. Yes people of Bird City, Kansas and Face Book friends who read this, I am Mormon too! I stand 100% behind my cousin Nikki. I wish I had only had the guts to speak up like she did and say it a long time ago. I just didn't want the judgement and ridicule that comes with it. Like you said Nikki, people just need to educate themselves with reliable sources and respect that we are members of the church. We are not pushing our religion or trying to convert anyone. We just wish to worship and believe freely without judgement. Thank you dear cousin for posting this. I feel like a heaviness has been lifted and I can breath again!.... Mari Krueger